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Power Training for Sport

Did You Know It's Possible to
DOUBLE Your Vertical Jump?
Power
training enables an athlete to apply the greatest
amount of their maximal strength in the shortest
period of time.

What if you were able to add 12

inches to your vertical leap?

maximal forces.

Of course it would...

Would that make you a better

This is crucial for many sports men and women who player? Would slam dunking or
will rarely be required nor have the time to produce spiking be effortless?

Most athletic activities involve far faster movements But it's impossible right?
and far higher power outputs than are found in
maximal strength exercises (4,5). An athlete can be Actually it's not...
exceptionally strong but lack significant explosive
power if they are unable to apply their strength
rapidly.
This article outlines the various methods of power
training, their parameters and how they can be used
to convert maximal strength into sport-specific power.
But before examining how power training should fit
into the overall strength program, it's important to
have a basic understanding of the relationship
between the force of movement and the velocity of
movement...
Read how and why here...

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The Force-Velocity RelationshipFREE GUIDE

Power is intimately related to force and time, which 100% FREE E-BOOK FOR EVERY
can be expressed in the simple formula:
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health & fitness supplements work
and which don't.
This eye-opening guide reviews the
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Traditional strength training typically alters the top Click here for details or get it below
half of this equation - increasing the ability to apply a
maximum amount of force. But for power to be
maximized the time component must also be altered.
This is the aim of power training - to reduce the
amount of time it takes to apply a set amount of force.
Maximum force production occurs when the speed of
movement is very low (i.e. performing a one repetition
maximum lift) or zero such as performing a static or

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isometric exercise.

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Conversely, as the speed of movement increases,

force decreases and at very high speeds force
production is very low. Between these two extremes is
an optimal point for power development. In fact,
maximal power occurs at intermediate velocities
when lifting moderate loads (6,7). Peak power
output is typically seen when loads of 30% one
repetition maximum (1-RM) are used (6,8).

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It's crucial that you

can trust the content
on this website. So if
This relationship between force and velocity and its you'd like to read a
bit more about me,
affect on power explains why an athlete can be
exceptionally strong but lack significant power if theyand my credentials...
you can do that here...
are unable to apply much of their strength over a
short period of time.
Assuming an athlete has maximized his or her abilityRSS FEED
to apply force (through maximal strength training), it
would be beneficial if they could train to increase the
rate of force production. Increasing the rate at
[?] Subscribe To This
which strength can be generated positively alters the
Site
time aspect of the power equation above.
The goal of power training is to increase the rate of
force production and there are several methods that
have been devised to do this...

The Different Types of Power

Training
Below are four methods of power training. A
prerequisite to starting one of these routines is the
development of a solid base of functional strength.
Power training, particularly plyometrics and ballistics,
becomes less effective and the risk of injury is
increased if a phase of anatomical adaptation has not
already been completed.
Heavy Strength Training

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Strength training alone can increase explosive power

by positively affecting the top half of the power
equation or the peak force production (9,10,11). Most
athletic movements also start from a stationary
position and it is this early phase of moving a
resistance (be it a medicine ball or bodyweight) that
requires the most effort. Therefore the greater an
athlete's strength is, the more explosive this initial
phase of motion will be. However, once this initial
inertia has been overcome less force and more speed
is required to continue the movement and heavy
strength training becomes less suitable.
Additionally, lifting weights of 70-100% 1-RM has also
been shown to reduce the rate of force production
which is counter-productive to power development
(12). This may explain why in strength trained
individuals heavy resistance training is less effective at
increasing vertical jump performance compared to
ballistics or plyometrics for example (11,13,14).
For an athlete who already has a solid base of strength
training (+6 months) gains in power are minimal with
further weight training (15,16). Of course, untrained
individuals can significantly improve their power with
weight training (15,17) and this is a safer and more
favorable mode of training than some of the advanced
techniques that follow.
Explosive Strength Training
Once a plateau in strength has been reached, more
sport-specific types of power training are required.
One of these training methods is a variation of
traditional resistance training. As mentioned earlier,
maximal power production occurs when moderate
loads of about 30% 1-RM are used.
Completing traditional weight lifting exercises as fast
as possible with relatively light loads produces in
theory, the greatest power output. Unfortunately there
is a problem with this approach...
Lifting a bar rapidly loaded with 30% 1-RM is difficult
to execute, particularly in the final phase of the
movement. The athlete must decelerate and stop the
bar in order to keep it under control (18,19). This
deceleration activates the antagonist muscles
negatively affecting power output and hinders the
required adaptations (11,20).
Ballistics and plyometrics avoid this problem, as there
is no deceleration. The athlete is free to jump as high
as possible or throw an object as far as possible
without restricting the movement.
If free weights exercises are used for power training,
loads of 75-85% are recommended (1,8,11) for sets of
3-5 repetitions. The parameters for explosive strength

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For single power efforts such as the throwing events in

athletics, a higher load (80-90% 1-RM) can be used
for a smaller number of repetitions (1-2). A multiple
power effort sport includes sprinting,team sports or
any event that requires repeated efforts.
Sets are not performed to exhaustion as the quality
and speed of each lift is the most important factor.
Rest intervals are also kept high for the same reason.
Ballistics
During a ballistic action, the force far outweighs the
resistance so movement is of a high velocity. The
resistance is accelerated and projected. Examples
include a medicine ball throw and a jump squat. The
aim is to reach peak acceleration at the moment of
release projecting the object or body as far as
possible.
While there is no definitive guidelines for the
resistance used with ballistics, Fleck and Kraemer (3)
suggest a load of 30-35% 1-RM should be used for
exercises that include free weights such as jump
squats. For many ballistic exercises the weight of the
objects themselves dictate the load i.e. medicine balls
ranging from 2-6kg (4.4-13lbs) and kettlebells ranging
from 10-32kg (22-70lbs).
Parameters for ballistic power training are summarized
in the table below:

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Repetitions can be reasonably high as the nature of

some exercises means there can be up to 20 seconds
between efforts - for example when a medicine ball
has to be retrieved. A set should stop however, the
moment the speed and quality of movement can no
longer be maintained.
For exercises such as jump squats that use 30% 1-RM
loads, Fleck and Kraemer (3) recommend up to 5 sets
of 3 repetitions with 3 minutes rest between sets.
Ballistics can place considerable eccentric forces on
joints, ligaments and tendons when landing from a
jump squat for example. Athletes should always
progress gradually from unloaded to loaded exercises
and must not be fatigued before starting a ballistic
power training session.
Plyometrics
Plyometric drills involve a quick, powerful movement
using a pre-stretch or counter-movement that involves
the stretch shortening cycle (1). Classical
plyometric exercises include various types of jump
training and upper body drills using medicine balls.
Plyometrics is a suitable form of power training for
many team and individual sports. While many might
see it simply as jumping up and down, there are
important guidelines and program design protocols
that need to be followed if plyometrics is to be as safe
and effective as possible. For this reason, and due to
its popularity plyometrics has its own section of the
website...
For full plyometric guidelines and sample sessions see
the plyometric training section of the website.

Which is The Best Form of Power

Training?

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The type of power training employed must be the most

specific to the sport or event. Olympic lifts, such as
power cleans, may be suitable for sports such as
football and rugby. Some plyometric exercises are
suitable for soccer and hockey. Ballistic exercises with
medicine balls fit well with basketball and volleyball.
But many sports would benefit from a combination of
power training methods. Take basketball for example explosive strength training such as power cleans,
plyometric exercises such as depth jumps and
ballistics such as jump squats and overhead medicine
ball throws would all be suitable choices.
Interestingly, a study measuring the effects of three
types of power training found that all of them
increased vertical jump performance. However, while
traditional weight training lead to a 5% increase and
plyometrics a 10% increase, the most effective was
ballistic jump squats, which lead to an 18%
improvement in jump height (11). This confirmed the
findings of a similar earlier study (14).
Does this mean ballistics is superior to other forms of
power training? Not necessarily. In this case it may be
that jump squats was the most specific to the
performance outcome.

Did You Know It's Possible to

DOUBLE Your Vertical Jump?
What if you were able to add
12 inches to your vertical
leap?
Would that make you a better
player? Would slam dunking or
spiking be effortless?
Of course it would...
But it's impossible right?
Actually it's not...
Read how and why here...

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Return from this power training article

to the main strength training section

References for power training

1) Baechle TR and Earle RW. (2000) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning: 2nd Edition.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
2) Bompa TO. 1999 Periodization Training for Sports. Champaign,IL: Human Kinetics
3) Fleck SJ and Kraemer WJ. (2004) Designing Resistance Training Programs, 3rd Edition.
Champaign,IL: Human Kinetics
4) Newton RU and Kraemer WJ. Developing explosive muscular power: implications for a mixed
methods training strategy. NSCAJ. 1994 16:(5):20-31
5) Komi PV. Neuromuscular performance: Factors influencing force and speed production. Scand J
Sports Sci. 1979 1:2-15
6) Knuttgen HG and Kraemer WJ. terminology and measurement in exercise performance. J Appl
Sport Sci Res. 1987 1:1-10
7) Newton RU, Murphy AJ, Humphries BJ, Wilson GJ, Kraemer WJ, Hakkinen K. Influence of load and
stretch shortening cycle on the kinematics, kinetics and muscle activation that occurs during explosive
upper-body movements. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1997;75(4):333-42
8) Garhammer J. A review of power output studies of Olympic and powerlifting: Methedology,
performance prediction and evaluation tests. J Strength Cond Res. 1993 7(2):76-89
9) Adams K, O'Shea JP, O'Shea KL and Climstein M. The effect of six weeks of squat, plyometric and
squat-plyometric training on power production. J Appl Sport Sci Res. 1992 6:36-41
10) Clutch D, Wilson C, McGown C and Bryce GR. The effect of depth jumps and weight training on
leg strength and vertical jump. Res Quarterly. 54:5-10
11) Wilson GJ, Newton RU, Murphy AJ, Humphries BJ. The optimal training load for the development
of dynamic athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Nov;25(11):1279-86
12) Behm DG, Sale DG. Velocity specificity of resistance training. Sports Med. 1993 Jun;15(6):374-88
13) Hakkinen K and Komi PV. Changes in electrical and mechanical behavior of leg extensor muscles
during heavy resistance strength training. Scand J Sports Sci. 1985 55-64
14) Berger RA. Effects of dynamic and static training on vertical jump ability. Res Quarterly 34:
419-424
15) Baker D. Comparison of upper-body strength and power between professional and college-aged
rugby league players. J Strength Cond Res. 2001 Feb;15(1):30-5
16) Newton RU, Kraemer WJ, Hakkinen K. Effects of ballistic training on preseason preparation of elite
volleyball players. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Feb;31(2):323-30
17) Komi PV and Hakkinen K. 1988. Strength and power. In The Olympic Book of Sports Medicine,
Dirix A, Knuttgen and HG Tittel K (eds). Boston: Blackwell Scientific
18) Newton RU, Kraemer WJ, Hakkinen K, Humphries BJ and Murphy AJ. Kinematics, kinetics and
muscle activation during explosive upper body movements: Implications for power development. J
Appl Biomech. 1996 12:31-43
19) Biomechanics and neural activation during fast bench press movements: Implications for power
training. NSCA Conference, New Orleans, June 1994
20) Young WB and Bilby GE. The effect of voluntary effort to influence speed of contraction on

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strength, muscular power and hypertrophy development. J Strength Cond Res. 1993 172-78

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